The digital marketing industry is entering a transformative and critical phase in 2025. In this ever-evolving landscape, even the smallest changes can present vital opportunities for brands to stand out.

To help businesses aiming to deepen their presence in local markets or boldly venture into international territories, several marketing platforms and consultancy firms have independently released reports on the latest marketing trends for 2025. These reports reveal common patterns and emerging trends in the industry.

01 Social Media Platforms Remain Resilient

Although only a third of people globally report that social media advertisements capture their attention, advertisers have not abandoned this important channel. On the contrary, they are striving to improve the quality of ad content and communication in order to re-engage audiences with fresh, creative ideas.

This strategy is driven by the continuous growth of social media user numbers worldwide. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are seeing significant growth in their user bases and engagement levels, greatly increasing their influence.

Against this backdrop, social media, retail media networks (RMN), connected TV (CTV), and digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) have become focal areas for advertisers. Indeed, more than 40% of advertisers plan to increase their budget allocation to these channels in 2025, aiming to establish a presence in emerging markets.

Take TikTok as an example: with an average daily usage time of 66 minutes, its strong user engagement and monetisation potential are steadily positioning it as an "Everything App." By integrating shopping features with community-inspired content, it provides advertisers with innovative marketing opportunities.

Meanwhile, retail media networks are gaining popularity among advertisers for their precise audience targeting and wide reach. Globally, approximately 41% of marketers plan to increase their advertising spend on retail media in 2025. In Mainland China, platforms like Taobao Live, Douyin, and WeChat have already reached half of the population, demonstrating the immense growth potential of live-streaming e-commerce.

Additionally, advertising in streaming media is showing robust growth. Around 55% of marketers worldwide plan to increase their investment in streaming media, with funds traditionally allocated to TV advertising continuing to be redistributed across the video advertising spectrum. Consequently, in 2025, advertisers will need to experiment and learn to strike the right balance between traditional broadcast television, SVOD (subscription video on demand), and AVOD (advertising video on demand) platforms to identify the most suitable media for their brands and campaigns.

02 Diversification of Advertising Formats

In addition to exploring new channels, innovation and development in advertising formats also warrant consideration.

Video-based advertisements, particularly those on connected TV (CTV) and short-video platforms, as well as digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) and influencer marketing, are seeing robust growth.

For example, the United States is the largest market for CTV advertising, thanks to its vast user base and growing user engagement. On the demand side, CTV ads achieve the highest video completion rates. On the supply side, over-the-top (OTT) streaming services are enriching the CTV content ecosystem and offering advertisers more options.

Notably, both short-video advertisements and DOOH are expected to experience sustained strong growth in the coming years. Advertisers highly favour short-video ads due to their educational, interactive, engaging, and social attributes. Meanwhile, DOOH leverages programmatic buying to achieve a broader reach and more precise targeting. Advertisers are increasingly recognising the value of these emerging advertising formats and are stepping up their investment in them.

03 Continued Penetration of AI Applications

While the application of AI technology in digital marketing continues to expand, over 40% of consumers say they distrust AI-generated advertisements. This reflects concerns about the reliability and transparency of AI data. Consequently, marketers must prioritise the credibility of data sources when applying generative AI. Ensuring the reliability of model training date will be crucial to mitigating potential data risks.

Conversely, the advanced application of generative AI is revolutionising digital marketing. Globally, marketers widely recognise its role in enhancing productivity, with 86% acknowledging time savings and 79% noting improvements in efficiency. As a result, advertisers are increasing their investment in generative AI, leveraging its capabilities in image creation, copywriting and optimisation, as well as conceptualising new ideas. This enables them to reduce the time spent on content creation, enhance operational efficiency, and increase creative output.

Moreover, conversational AI, such as chatbots and voicebots, is accelerating the transformation of communication between businesses and consumers. An impressive 90% of consumers believe that AI assistants capable of understanding and responding to their voice will significantly improve their interaction experience. This further underscores the potential of AI technology to improve consumer engagement.

(Data Source: Meetsocial)